Sidequest.js – Background jobs for Node.js using your database

In plain words

Sidequest.js is a background job runner for Node.js that executes tasks in isolated worker threads without blocking the API. It uses existing databases like Postgres, MySQL, SQLite, or MongoDB instead of requiring Redis, eliminating vendor lock-in. The tool supports retries, job uniqueness, concurrency control, snoozing, and prioritization, and includes a CLI and dashboard. It is designed for Node.js developers building monoliths who want background job processing without additional infrastructure.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

In the maker’s words, at launch

Hey HN, I'm the maintainer of node-cron (5M+ downloads/month), and I recently built Sidequest.js, a background job runner for Node.js inspired by Oban (Elixir) and Sidekiq (Rails). It solves some common problems I saw with libraries like node-cron: - Jobs don’t block your API: they run in isolated worker threads…

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